It's a girl!!!!

February 29, 2008

We had our 20th week ultrasound last week and it was amazing. Even though it was a bit tough to see, because the umbilical cord was right between the baby's legs, the nurse and the doctor determined that they were at least 90% sure it was a girl.

Here is her first picture!!

We quickly determined that she's got my nose, with a tip that points a bit upwards. She was extremely active during the ultrasound, and she was kicking L's bladder the whole time :). Definitely a soccer player in the making. We didn't get a new height/length measurement, but the estimated weight is 11.65 oz/330 grams.

The results from L's blood work also came back negative. No signs of Down syndrome or other irregularities. So far, she's looking pretty healthy. The heart beat is steadily falling, and is now down to 152 beats/minute.

With the sex revealed, we felt that we were ready to take on Babies 'R Us, and the whole baby shower registry ordeal. So, last Sunday we manned up and went to the store. Luckily, one of our friends who has been through this once before, agreed to help us. She was such a blessing. With her help we managed to get most of the registry done in just over 2 1/2 hours. Without her, we would still be standing in the bottle aisle trying to decide which bottle to choose, and what nipple to put on it. :)

The last week also created a moment of stress (what's new, right). Monday night L discovered some brown spotting, and that freaked her out of course. There was not a whole lot anyone could do on Monday, so on Tuesday they had L come in to the Labor and Delivery unit to make sure everything was alright and that her cervix hadn't opened. Everything was fine, but they still sent L home to take it easy for a day and a half, and on Wednesday the spotting was gone. At our OB/GYN appointment that Wednesday the OB/GYN asked why L is so worried, since everything is looking great. She refers to L as her "patient that is always expecting to get bad news".

So, all in all, a couple of exciting weeks. The doctors couldn't see Peanut's heart clearly on the ultrasound, so we get to go back in for another one in a couple of weeks. We'll try to get some more pictures of our little girl then.

We haven't fallen off the planet - yet

February 6, 2008.

It's been a long time guys. January is always busy with work, travelling to trade shows and sales meetings etc. But, now I have some time to update the blog, and to let you know what is happening in our world.

As I mentioned above, I do a fair amount of travelling in January. So, it was great for L and I that her mother came out and spent almost a week with L, while I was away. It seems they both enjoyed the time together, and I think L's mom was excited to go shopping for maternity clothes, looking at cribs and strollers, and last, but certainly not least, get to go to an OB/GYN appointment with L.

Yes, we had an OB/GYN appointment last week. Unfortunately I didn't get to go, as I was sitting on a plane from San Fransisco, while they were listening for heart beats. The baby's heart rate was down to 160 beats/minute, which is exactly where it's supposed to be, according to the OB/GYN. They did blood work, and a weigh in as well. L's weight gain was right on track with what is expected at this stage.

We had to wait 48 hours for most of the results of the blood work, and 10 days for the test results for the Down's syndrome indicator test. They told us that they wouldn't call us unless something was wrong, so we're hoping that the phone will stay silent.

As I mentioned, we've started looking for cribs, strollers and other baby related furniture. We've been searching the web trying to find websites that can give us some good information about what features to look for, potential safety problems, what brand delivers good quality etc, but we really have not found anthing comprehensive. I signed up for ConsumerReports.org, but their reviews were old, and most of what they rated there was no longer available. So, not very helpful. I guess we'll just have to go to a lot of stores and "test" it out ourselves. We may have to buy a "lifesize" doll, fill it with water (and seal the hole), and simulate lifting the baby out of the crib etc. L is pretty short, so it can get a bit tough for her to lift the baby up when the bottom of the crib is at the lowest setting.

In another couple of weeks we're going in for the 1 hour ultrasound, where they will measure just about everything there is to measure, as far as I can tell from what L is telling me. We're excited to get a visual image of the little person that is growing inside of L. It's strange to go for so long with "nothing" happening, when you start of the pregnancy with all the blood tests and ultrasounds that we had. You get restless, constantly wanting to know more.

I will try to do a better job of updating the blog. I know this is a way for a lot of you to keep track of what is happening in our lives.


Take care.


Erik